The present invention relates to permitting ingress and egress to a passenger compartment of a vehicle after a crash.
Vehicles have openings for ingress and egress of vehicle passengers to and from a passenger compartment in the vehicle. A vehicle door has a closed position blocking such an opening and an open position enabling ingress and egress of passengers to the passenger compartment through the opening. Upon a vehicle crash, it is desirable that the door be easily moved to an open position without tools so that passengers may be rescued from the passenger compartment, if necessary.
The present invention is an apparatus for use in a vehicle having an opening for ingress to and egress from a passenger compartment in the vehicle. A door has a closed position blocking the opening and an open position enabling ingress and egress through the opening. A structure assists in maintaining the door in the closed position. An actuatable device, when actuated, renders the structure unable to assist in maintaining the door in the closed position.